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Dreams of Nepal (photos by Sterling Lorence)

Today I had two kick-ass MTB photographers (this guy and this guy) recommend this slideshow to me. I figured it was probably worth 6 minutes of my time to check out. Sure enough, Sterling pretty much killed it with these images.

We now interrupt this half assed Tour de France commentary with some mountain biking…

I have some plans in the works to go to Nepal in about 10 months. After seeing this I reckon I can just leave my camera at home and show this to people when I get back. Goddamn.

Lovely. Must have been the tourist boards take on their own country. We were there in ’93, and dealt with gangs of theives, beggars, corrupt officials, and I would never set foot in that shit hole again. Looks lovely on film, but then so did Dumbo. Quit thinking like a spoiled American, and realize you are going to a place where your shoes are worth more than your life.

I lived there for two years (’95-’98) and the video is closer to reality than Crank’s description.
They are among the most generous people I have ever encountered. It ain’t utopia and there are plenty of ugly things to experience. That contrast is part of what makes it so remarkable.
I’d go back in a heartbeat, bike in hand.

Ive seen a few Sterl’s slideshows over the years and be it Morocco, Iceland, the North Shore, Whistler, and BC in general, if there is anything his slide shows convey, its the cycling, colours, culture and local people of the area they are riding in. Therefore I can confidently say I feel that the tourist board had no involvement in what was portrayed in the Nepal show. However, this is a promotion for a bike tour…

I was once told by someone that travelled in the same circle that “Sterling Lorence is ‘The Man’ in the industry.” I figured that but coming from someone that has been in front of his lens really sends it home.

The comments here prompted me to drop Mr. Lorence an e-mail and chat him up about the trip. Here is a little of what he had to say about the experience:

“We’re just mountain bikers searching out new veins of singletrack and sampling them. Nobody held our hands. I guess, as they say in life, it’s where you choose to look and where you choose to be in your mind that helps you see the world around you. Everywhere on this planet has rough ‘n tough places, and that’s why we are mountain bikers, simply getting away from it all and being in the mountains. When I think of Nepal and its Nepalese people, I simply see a smile”